Pasta with Raw Tomato Sauce and Fresh Ricotta

This time of year, a trip to the grocery store or farmer’s market will astound with the number and variety of fresh, ripe tomatoes available – not to mention the overwhelming number of them on your vines if you grow them yourself! Don’t you dare pass them up! Let’s put them to good use by making a fresh pasta with a “raw” tomato sauce!

Great tomatoes are available year-round, but nothing beats the summer when the stores and markets are overflowing with bushels of sweet, ripe tomatoes in all their glory and various forms! Cherry, grape, vine-on, beefsteak, heirloom – the list goes on and on! At the height of the growing season, the best way to enjoy this fruit is to eat it raw.

When we lived in Alexandria VA, we would always grow a variety of tomatoes in pots on the back deck, with admittedly mixed success. We had the best luck with the smaller grape and cherry tomatoes – those would grow like weeds, and all turn ripe at the same time (meaning, like, on the same day!), creating an emergency where we had to eat pounds of tomatoes over the course of a week. We had less luck with the larger tomato varieties, mainly because they drew the attention of the damn squirrels who would remove them from the vine – always a day or two before I was ready to pick them – and then proceed to take one or two bites and leave the rest on the deck. I convinced they only did that to taunt me.

One year, I got so frustrated with them that I committed to defeating the vermin by wrapping the vines in a plastic mesh so heavily that no squirrel could get to them (Laurie can attest to this battle and my confidence at winning it). Alas, somehow, someway, the squirrels were able to break into my barrier and steal my tomatoes for a bite or two of each. Our retired racing greyhound, Lincoln, absolutely hated squirrels and would chase them aggressively every chance he could (with Laurie and I being dragged behind, struggling to keep up as we held on for dear life to his leash). He was fast enough that he almost caught a few and would have if we hadn’t held him back with the leash! We knew he considered them the lowest form of life and after our experience with the tomatoes, I have to agree with him!

Interestingly, Lincoln also hated tomatoes! I’ll never forget an open house we held where Lincoln somehow was able to grab a turkey, lettuce, and tomato slider off the serving table. We would have never known, if not for the lone tomato sitting on his bed on the floor along with a few crumbs from the bun (and his guilty look when we asked him what he had done)!

The squirrel hunter (and tomato hater) at rest – our greyhound Lincoln Keota Geis

Anyway, Laurie and I have made gourmet tomato sandwiches, tomato and mozzarella salad, panzanella salad (a tomato-bread salad), bacon-lettuce-tomato sandwiches, tomato and ricotta toasts, and many other dishes that use raw tomatoes in their preparation. But this year, I decided to try something new – pasta with a “raw” tomato sauce and homemade garlic bread! Raw here simply means what you would think – it’s a no-cook sauce, which makes it incredibly quick and easy to make. And it allows you to enjoy the fresh, sweet flavor of the tomatoes without any distractions! Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think!

Pasta with Raw Tomato Sauce and Fresh Ricotta (Serves 4)

This quick-and-easy dish uses the freshest ingredients from summer’s bounty of fruit (yes, tomatoes are a fruit, not a vegetable!) to create a light and flavorful dish that’s perfect for a late summer or early fall evening out on the deck or lanai. Look for the ripest tomatoes you can find and feel free to mix and match if you see a variety of tomatoes that look best to you. You can also add in another vegetable like zucchini or eggplant to make a heartier version of this dish. A nice light rosé wine pairs nicely here - Samuel Robert Rose Willamette Vintner's Reserve from Oregon ($15) or Angeline Rose from California ($13) are great choices. Pair with my homemade garlic bread or a tossed salad to round out the meal!

Ingredients

3 lb. ripe tomatoes – cored, seeded, and cut into ½ inch dice

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp. fresh basil, minced

¼ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

½ cup plus 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 cup vegetables, cut into ½ inch dice (like zucchini or eggplant) (Optional)

1 lb. pasta (we like rigatoni for this dish, but use any kind you like)

1 cup whole milk ricotta (Bellwether Farms Whole Milk Ricotta is simply the best – available at Whole Foods stores)

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions

Place the tomatoes in a large bowl and sprinkle with 1 tsp. kosher salt and 1 tsp. fresh ground pepper – mix to combine.

Bring 4 quarts of water and 1 tbsp. kosher salt to a rolling boil in a large pot or saucepan and cook pasta according to instructions until al dente.

Meanwhile, heat a small non-stick skillet with 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic (and any other vegetable you might want to include) and sauté for 2-3 minute until lightly browned – transfer to the bowl with the tomatoes and stir to combine.

Right before serving, add the remaining ½ cup of olive oil into the skillet and heat gently over medium low heat for about 3 minutes. Pour over the tomato mixture and stir to combine. Add the pasta to the bowl and sprinkle with the fresh basil and parmesan cheese and stir again to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place in individual serving bowls and top each with ¼ cup ricotta.

Homemade Garlic Bread (makes 6 to 8 servings)

This garlic bread comes together in less than 10 minutes and is the perfect match for any pasta dish. No need to buy prepared garlic bread when you can make your own!

Ingredients

1 small (12-inch) French baguette, sliced in half lengthwise

4 tbsp. salted butter

2 tsp. garlic salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Separate the two halves of the baguette and place on a baking sheet. Butter both halves and then sprinkle each side with garlic salt and pepper. Place in oven and toast until top of bread is lightly browned and slightly crusty, about 10 minutes. Slice and serve.